Door Panel Removal

(From CS Registry Newsletter)
Marilyn

To take the door panels off - Step #2 is to remove the rubber vent window knob. Step #1 is to pop the chrome insert out from behind - a secret few know about. Do not try to pry it out from the front as most people do. (you may see the scars from these mistaken efforts) There is a very tiny hole in the rubber wheel on the smooth raised edge. Get a magnifying glass and find it if you can't just see it. Directly behind that hole is a place where [gasp!] the valve adjusting tool from the tool box will fit nicely and you can just pop that chrome insert out from behind. Otherwise, bend some thin but rigid wire into a "J" shape. Don't use the wood to lever against - rotate the knob if necessary.

With the center "chrome" (plastic) disc removed, the phillips screw in the center releases the knob. Replace the screw into the mechanism so you don't lose it. Take out the ashtray by pushing in and down - it's held in place with a clip at the top.

Unscrew the armrest - start with the screw that holds the chrome (plastic) piece on top it is underneath. Gently - carefully get the chrome piece out. Don't lose the screw. Label them - keep each set of screws taped down and labeled as to where they go. Remove the screw that holds the plastic to the door wood. Don't lose the screw and don't lose that little plastic ear shaped piece under the top of the armrest. (I call it the Picasso piece - got that from Art) Don't break any plastic pieces - some of the colors are NLA and then you've got a dye job or a search among wrecks on your hands.

Take the armrest off by getting to those big screws underneath it. Sorry to be redundant but LABEL everything. Label, label, label. You won't remember where it all goes and some of these pieces will only fit together with each other even if the screws look identical. What happens is that the screw hole inside the door get stripped after a few removals, but mate tend to each other, or a previous owner has replaced the original with a slightly larger screw.

Carefully pry the black insert off the chrome door release handle. Usually best to start at the back of the skinny end. Don't sweat this too much if it gets wrecked - they are less than $2/per and easily available. Remove the screw to take off the door handle. Don't lose the washers, spacers and springs. Make note of their sequence - assuming their arrangement wasn't altered by a previous removal.

To remove the cardboard backed, vinyl covered door panel easily, with the least frustration and damage, you need a tool that looks like a small garden weeder or a large fondue fork. They have them in auto parts stores that sell auto paint. It is an angled tool with a forked end on it - kind of like a reptilian tongue. This is the tool that you slip underneath an upholstery clip to pry it loose - without damaging your paint or materials. Be careful taking off the door panels - you can rip the clips out of the cardboard backing if the tool is between the clip flange and the panel instead of between the flange and the door metal.

The door panel will then just slip down and out from underneath the wood panel on the sill.